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Hi,
I purchased this lovely vase which has been turned into a lamp at auction. It came as a pair of lamps/vases but only one vase has a mark on the bottom. The other vase has no mark, and is almost exactly similar in pattern. I am wondering if anyone can help me decipher what the mark says and what period the vase came from. I have been wracking my brain trying to find similar marks. Does anybody know a possible value, or why only one vase has a mark?
Thanks so much, any help would be greatly appreciated!

The mark can be translated into "Qianlong period made". Qianlong was a famous Chinese Manchu emperor what ruled in China in the 18th century. However the vase itself is most likely a later circa 1900's - 1930's reproduction.

Thanks Pyro for the information....So if these vases are from the early 1900's do you think they were made at the same time and sold together? Would this be why only one of the vases has a mark? Do you know why so many of these vases were turned into lamps? Does this lower the value of these vases? How can you tell the difference between a true piece form the 18th century and a reproduction? I'm sure the quality is one issue and that a true piece would be much harder to come by...but are there any general things to look for?
Thanks!

To answer your questions about how to tell an 18th century original to a later copy would require me to write a whole book. I to be honest I do not consider myself to be that league when it come to knowledge. A quick small pointers would most likey be how the mark is written and the painting style and the color of the enamels which change over time. It was popular in the higher end stores to purchase Chinese art as a whole and import them to be sold in their stores. There were specialist stores in the major cities that offered art from the orient and I think all the major department stores had an "oriental" section. I remember seeing scan of newspaper adverts from the 1920's offering huge amounts of these vases. They came from CHina intact and many were made into lamps. Generally having a hole drill in the base is considered damage and I would think a 50% reduction in value would be correct although some others say as much as two thirds value reduction.

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